WS at 87… That Our Future May Not Disappear
The yearly gathering of young people across the globe, under the auspices of the Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange (WSICE), comes up July 13 in a hybrid format – live and virtual.
According to Alhaji Teju Kareem, Executive Producer, WSICE, this year, will focus on the theme, That Our Future May Not Disappear. He said the event is expected to attract over 5,000 young people drawn from across four continents of the world.
His words: “Taking a different direction this year, the WSICE, which, in its youth segment had always featured a writing competition for students the past 13 years, will hold as a forum to air the views of young people about critical developments in world polity.”
According to him, “this year, young people from as many as 20 countries will engage in discourse on the now widely spread incident of ‘disappearing humanity’ through acts of kidnapping, abductions, human cancels, social and cultural discriminations on the bases of colour creed, faith, physio-mental features, and others — all framed in the conceptual context of theme.”
Past winners of the yearly contests of the WSICE will be joined by contemporaries from other countries and cultures will converge on a panel named “The International Youth Assembly” to discuss the issue of disappearance of all forms and how it affects their future and the survival of the human family.
While the discourse will hold in the virtual space, the live event will hold at the Ijegba Theatre Resort located in the heart of the Autonomous Republic of Ijegba, A.R.I – the thickly forested residence of the Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, who is the grand inspiration behind the project. This segment will have over 1000 pupils and students of Ogun State having a mentoring session with members of the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA (Ogun State Chapter).
“The programme will also have group of specially selected eminent cultural and educational leaders named “Advocates of Conscience” – who are renowned for having dedicated their time, life, and careers to speaking for and working with young people. They will share their experiences and remarks,” Kareem said
